In Exile (Archangel Jarahmael and the War to Conquer Heaven, Book III) (33 page)

RESCUE

Enoch entered a passageway into the Underworld and landed near the river Styx. This area was just like Norophim had described to him earlier, as he looked around for Khairon, the ferryman. No Khairon that he could see. The Ferryman must be on the other side of the river, dropping off souls to the main gate into Hades. Now to slip across the river unseen.

The area here was built up, and there was a low roar of voices from across the river. Souls that were kept in Hades, awaiting eventual release by the Almighty, once the plan for redemption was carried out. Enoch had to be doubly careful. He could not afford to be seen entering Hades or Hell. His task was to get Jarahmael free of this place, not to get himself captured.

He looked along the river bank and saw that there was some sort of activity across the way that was drawing most of the souls towards it. Looking along the river bank, he could see areas where there weren't any souls, and then following his line of sight up further, he saw a place with a wide outcropping of rocks.
Looks like part of an underground mountain range. I can use the cover of the mountains and see where Jarahmael has been bound,
Enoch thought.

Enoch adjusted the bow that he carried on his back and shifted the swords around on his belt so that they would not clang with one another and give his position away. He took a few steps and took off, flapping his wings slowly and quietly as he flew over the river. Once he was halfway across the river he spotted Khairon in his black hooded cloak, still heading away from him, towards the gateway into Hades and Hell. That was good, he wouldn't see Enoch. Nor were there any souls looking in his direction on the opposite river bank, certainly none that he could see. His pathway was clear as he flew low across the last stretch of river and headed towards the outcropping of rocks. He crossed without being seen; fortunately, this side of the river was becoming misty with low visibility, making it more difficult for any of the souls or Luciferael's creatures to see him once he made it over.

He stayed close to the rocks and moved slowly. With his bright white wings he would be easily spotted, and he thought it would be very difficult to pass as one of the bodiless souls that inhabited this place. Enoch was surprised that there weren't any other creatures here in Hades. He climbed over a boulder in one of the ravines bordered by part of the mountains and was suddenly confronted by a line of ten or so bodiless souls heading towards him. He had no place to go and decided to stand absolutely still as they headed towards him. Instead of them reacting to his presence as he feared, they passed right through him, bodiless souls floating through Hades dreaming as they passed, eyes closed, not aware of where they were.

Relieved, he moved forward at a quicker pace. There were no creatures outside of the souls that he could see for miles around. He hoped that Hell would be as easy to navigate, but he had been forewarned by Norophim that Hell was much different from Hades. After he crossed Hades, he came upon the molten rock river Phlegomon, exactly as Norophim had described. This was the border between Hades and Hell. At least now he could use his weapons if he chose to, and there would be no violation of the neutrality agreement between Michael and Luciferael for leaving the souls of Hades free from any future conflict.

Once again, Enoch checked his weapons to make sure he could move with them and they would remain silent. It was more important when he crossed over into Hell. It was a prison of sorts, the souls that were entrapped here had been followers of Luciferael or had sinned greatly. These souls were guarded and tortured by Luciferael's Auxilium, creations and minions. Enoch had been told that Luciferael and his guards certainly did not want anyone to come into Hell to release Jarahmael until they forced the information about the Books out of him.

Enoch flew himself over the rock formations in Hell itself. Enoch had to move slowly, as he could hear many of Luciferael's creatures moving about, and he certainly did not want to be discovered here in Hell and get caught. At least not until Jarahmael was freed.

The Almighty must think highly of my skills, Enoch thought to himself, none of the other loyal Angels had ever been sent by Him into this underground realm.
Actually, he was the second Angel, considering that Jarahmael had been captured and taken here. Enoch kept moving deeper into Hell, passing by a number of tunnels and caves that shot off to the sides of the cavern. Then he finally saw him. It was exactly the same scene that the Almighty had showed him the day before. The large torn-up body of an Archangel confined into his flesh-covered form. The Archangel Jarahmael lay perfectly still as the winged creature tore at Jarahmael's chest and stomach area. Enoch could almost feel the pain as he watched what that creature was doing to the Archangel.

Enoch moved forward quickly, pulling his hood down over his head to keep him in the dark and camouflaged as much as possible. Then as if by command, the winged creature stopped feeding on Jarahmael and flew up into the air above him. Enoch pulled out an arrow from a quiver along his side, strung it onto his bow, took aim and shot, silencing the hellish creature as it fell to the ground. No more problems with that creature! Now it was time to get Jarahmael out of here.

Enoch emerged from one of the caves that fed into the cavern, stepping cautiously, so he did not reveal himself to any of the other daemons lurking about. His face, framed by the hood of the cloak, showed no remorse. The dead carnabus was a soul-less creature, cruel and instinctual rather than having an ability to create or to think for itself. There would be no guilt for destroying this creature.

Just to be sure the creature was destroyed, the cloaked figure walked over to where the carnabus had fallen, and watched as it disintegrated back into the soil that supported Hell. Only then did Enoch walk over and climb up the outcrop of rocks where Jarahmael was chained. He looked over the scarred wrists and ankles of the Archangel and his ripped open chest cavity, and could not help the tears that trailed down his cheeks. Enoch then reached into his tunic and pulled out a vial of water given to him by the Archangel Raphael. He opened the vial and poured the water slowly on Jarahmael's wounds. Although the fluid began to heal Jarahmael's body in its earthly form, the damage was great, and multiple levels of scars formed in the open wounds from where the Archangel had been tortured for almost a thousand years. Leaning over Jarahmael's ear, Enoch whispered, “I have come to take you home, you have suffered enough.”

But Jarahmael was still weak and unable to respond. Enoch moved quickly, because it would not be long before the other daemons realized there was something amiss. Once the binding curse on Jarahmael was removed, Luciferael’s base of operations, the Pandemonium Palace, would be alerted that someone had come to rescue Jarahmael. Nevertheless, it had to be dissolved. Enoch reached once again into his tunic and pulled out an ancient scroll and began to read aloud from it.

“By the power and command of the Almighty, I dispense with the binding curse of Luciferael and command these stakes melt into the body of the Archangel Jarahmael, return the strength they have stolen from him, and give him additional strength earned through his pain and suffering. I also command the chains that bind him become armor that will protect him now and evermore.”

As Enoch spoke, the stakes used to hold Jarahmael down melted into his wounds, and became part of his body. The chains that bound him, large-linked, heavy, and oxidized transformed into a coat of chain mail and coated all of Jarahmael except for his wings. And a bright glow began to radiate from Jarahmael's eyes, afire now in blue.

At that moment, a roar went through all of Hell, a sirocco blasting heat throughout that dreadful place. Despite the armor and his returning strength, Jarahmael was in no condition to defend himself, as the deeper harmful effects of his punishment were not yet healed, and he would not be able to overcome the daemonic onslaught, one that was surely on its way.

Enoch bent over and picked up Jarahmael in his arms and began to fly. He headed towards the left most cavern that led back to the outside world through Hades and beyond the river Styx. They flew in the direction of cooling temperatures, which guided them away from the heat of Hell and toward freedom from this prison. The heat of Hell travelled along, surrounding the two of them as Enoch carried Jarahmael in flight, making it more difficult to follow the cooler air. They flew higher in the air of Hell to gain speed, avoiding the perils of the surface in Hell with its many rocks, but also trading off the cover and the concealment the outcroppings could have provided. Besides, the rocks and outcroppings further blocked off the cooler air, making it even more difficult to tell if they were headed in the right direction.

It did not take long before they were spotted, a strange sight even for Hell, one flying Angel physically carrying another in its arms. One of the pitchfork-armed red daemons screamed out, “There they are!” Enoch almost dropped Jarahmael's body as he instinctively began to reach for his weapon. But Enoch recovered, his arms full again with the injured Archangel's body. Three winged daemons came out of the cavern where they were headed, forcing Enoch to change directions. As he turned, twenty of the winged daemons came out of the deeper pits of Hell and began flying parallel with the two of them.

The route Enoch had used to enter Hell was now blocked. Enoch then rolled both Jarahmael and himself in midair and headed back towards the third cavern, one further down from the original one that he been headed for. This cavern was sloped downward and they gained speed as he dove downwards towards it. They were now being actively chased, and the daemons behind began to shoot fiery balls at him and Jarahmael, with the goal of knocking the two of them out of the air and onto the ground where the other red daemons were gathering. As Enoch dove closer to the surface, the red daemons too began shooting missiles upwards at the two of them.

Enoch flew into the third cavern, narrowly avoiding being hit by the winged and grounded daemons. But they were still in close pursuit, set back only by the additional speed he gained by diving steeply downward. They flew deeper into the cave, but instead of it getting gradually cooler and being one the routes out of Hell, the heat was increasing, indicating that they were headed in the wrong direction. They were heading back into the deeper pits of Hell, and with the ranks of winged daemons assembling behind them. They were now cut off from freedom.

The cave took another turn and they headed still deeper. Enoch then saw that the cave ended in a large pool of magma with no visible means of escape. The winged daemons were catching up to the two flying figures, while the red daemons ran along the surface, following them. Blocked from going further forward, they were now also cut off from going back, both in the air and on the ground. The daemons stayed back, with no need to advance on the two, knowing it was a dead end and they were trapped. And as the moments passed, more and more daemons came, both on the ground and in the air.

It was only a matter of time before Luciferael or one of the other rebel Archangels would arrive and use a curse or other means of restraint against Enoch and Jarahmael. In the meantime, Enoch dropped down out of the air keeping a series of boulders between him and the daemons further up the cavern. Safely in position, he placed Jarahmael softly on the rough ground.

Not such a great plan. At least he had tried. No one else had ever even attempted to find or free Jarahmael. It was ironic, because Jarahmael had done so much for so many others. Enoch certainly did not want to be captured nor did he want Jarahmael restrained again to that dreadful rock. But he had run out of options. He would not give up without a fight and he reached his hand over his shoulder and took out his weapon from the sheath behind his back and loaded it.

He leaned down and said to Jarahmael, “Sorry I could not get us out of here.” Enoch saw a tear roll down Jarahmael's face and for the first time he moved. Jarahmael tried to get up but was still too weak. “Stay down, Jarahmael. You are not strong enough to battle the daemons here.”

But Jarahmael put his left hand onto Enoch's arm and pulled himself up a little bit higher. With his right hand, he reached behind his left shoulder, his hand now holding something shiny.

Enoch looked down and saw that it was a small mirror that Jarahmael had concealed all of this time. He gave Jarahmael a puzzled look. Jarahmael whispered, “Place the mirror there,” and indicated the back of a boulder that was between them and the daemons. “Stretch it with your hands and then take the two of us and step with both of us into it. It will do the rest.”

“How did you. . .?”

“Never searched me...” Jarahmael whispered with a weak smile forming on his face. He then added in a whisper, “Habitare Tacitus Jarahmael!”

They heard the blast of the horns of destruction coming from the direction of the daemons and could see boulders flying overhead as the sound waves started clearing all the outcroppings that separated them from their attackers. It was only a matter of seconds before it hit where they were hiding.